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a very short conversation about health care

My friend: “I can’t believe what the Republicans did. They hate poor people.”Me: “I dunno. Seems like it, doesn’t it.”My friend: “Oh c’mon, they despise poor people.”Me: “Naw, it’s more like the Republicans are Rick Blaine and poor folks are Signor Ugarte.”My friend: “What?”Me: “You know, like in the movie Casablanca.”My friend: “Casablanca? What the hell are you talking about?”Me: “You’ve never seen Casablanca?”My friend: “Well, yeah, of course I’ve seen it. But what’s Casablanca got to do with Republicans passing a hateful health care bill?”Me: “Remember that scene? The one with Humphrey Bogart and Peter Lorre?”My friend: “Oh, yeah, right. He wants to search Bogart’s office, and he pulls a gun, but Bogie knocks him out and takes his gun and searches him, and when Peter Lorre wakes up, Bogart gives him back the gun, and Peter Lorre points it at him again and demands to search his office. Great scene.”Me: “That’s from The Maltese Falcon.”My friend: “Oh. Right. Sam Spade and…Peter Lorre.”Me: “Joel Cairo.”My friend: “What?”Me: “Peter Lorre played Joel Cairo in The Maltese Falcon. In Casablanca he plays a guy named Signor Ugarte.”My friend: “Okay. I’m still confused.”Me: “What I’m saying…or trying to say…is that Republicans would probably despise poor people if they gave them any thought.”My friend: “Okay. Wait, what?”Me: “Congressional Republicans…and this is just my opinion…don’t care enough about poor people to think about them enough to actually despise them.”My friend: “But if they did, they would.”Me: “Exactly.”